The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

VATICAN CITY, 17 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Pope Benedict XVI will make an apostolic visit to Croatia from 4 to 5 June for the celebrations of the National Croatian Catholic Families Day. For this occasion, statistics have been compiled concerning the Catholic Church in that country. The information, updated to 31 December 2009, comes from the Central Statistical Office of the Church.

Croatia, whose capital is Zagreb, has a population of 4,429,000, of whom 3,981,000 (89.88%) are Catholic. There are 17 ecclesiastical circumscriptions and 1,598 parishes. There are currently 25 bishops, 2,343 priests, 3,711 religious, 44 lay members of secular institutes, and 1,912 catechists. Minor seminarians number 149 and major seminarians 438.

A total of 13,362 students attend the 41 centers of Catholic education, from kindergartens to university. Other charitable and social organizations belonging to the Church or run by priests or religious in Croatia include: 1 hospital, 30 homes for the elderly or disabled, 53 orphanages and nurseries, 14 family counseling and other pro-life centers, 16 centers for social education or rehabilitation, and 6 institutions of other kinds.
OP/ VIS 20110517 (170)

VATICAN CITY, 17 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father is scheduled to meet with Archbishop Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, in an audience this afternoon.
AP/ VIS 20110517 (20)

- accepted the resignation of Bishop Joaquim Goncalves from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Vila Real, upon having reached the age limit. Bishop Amandio Jose Tomas, previously coadjutor of the same diocese, succeeds him.